This CD is a split between legendary powerviolence (like grindcore, but more punk than metal) band
Despise You and nihilistic, surprisingly creative drum machine-driven grindcore act
Agoraphobic Nosebleed.
Despise You's 18 tracks, which make up the bulk of the disc, are their first material to be released in over a decade, but stylistically and sonically little has changed from their earliest 7" singles and EPs. Only five tracks are more than a minute long, and some are less than half that. Their two vocalists (one pissed-off-sounding dude and a second, much higher-pitched voice that either belongs to a woman or a small boy) provide an interesting, almost
Atari Teenage Riot-style contrast to each other, and track titles like "They All Died Is What Happened," "Bankrupt Social Code," and "Yes Officer/No Officer" convey a classic hardcore/punk spirit. There are only two surprises -- a cover of
Fear's "I Don't Care About You" with rewritten lyrics (it's also been retitled "Fear's Song"), and "Cedar Ave. (Was the Best Place to Watch People Ascend to Heaven)," a nearly four-minute doomy crawl. As for
Agoraphobic Nosebleed, their seven songs aren't as retro-thrashy as their last full-length, the disappointing
Agorapocalypse. "Half Dead" is a slow trudge, half
Melvins, half
Flipper; "As Bad As It Is…" features shredding guitars and machine-gun drum machine like the
ANb of old; three under-a-minute blasts follow; and the disc concludes with another would-be thrash anthem, "Possession," and another sludgefest, "Burlap Sack." If this is a contest,
Despise You are the winners, but both bands deliver what their fans expect on this entertaining release. ~ Phil Freeman